Engaging in Structural Cultural Change

Peart, S. and Fell-Chambers, R. (2025) Engaging in Structural Cultural Change. In: An Introduction to Social Justice Education in the UK: Key Challenges and Opportunities. Bloomsbury, London, pp. 149-162. ISBN 9781350438095

Text Peart_Chapter 12 Is this Going_2025.pdf - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only until 13 May 2026. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (378kB)

Abstract

Embracing diversity and celebrating difference remains an elusive aspiration for some universities with history, tradition and normalised culture acting collectively to position minority groups at the fringes of the organization. As a consequence of the Macpherson Report (1999) Universities must provide an appropriate and professional service to people which should not be adversely influenced by their colour, culture, or ethnic origin. Universities must also uphold strengthened legal protections provided to minoritized ethnic populations. Specifically, the Equality Act 2010 requires publicly funded organizations to meet the distinctive cultural needs of minority groups and the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) obliges organizations to ‘improve society and promote equality in every aspect of their day-to-day business’ (Equality and Human Rights Commission 2022). All Universities are required to meet this obligation irrespective of the numbers of ethnic minority students who attend any given institution. The geographical location of the organization and racial demographic of leadership teams may create a monolithic approach to diversity, supporting colour-blindness and further exasperating inequality. Ray (2019: 12) suggests that organizations should assume they are ‘contributing to racial inequality unless the data shows otherwise’ and Rollock (2018: 315) states that in some learning environments ‘course content dismisses or subjugates their identity or history’ therefore, minority students are immediately and automatically disadvantaged through casual alienation processes. This research explored how a group of White staff experienced engaging in active cultural change designed to disrupt assumed narratives about race by scrutinising their responses to this development. Using ‘The Black History Month moment to launch’ (Bernard 2017: 387) conversations and to revisit current provision, this project investigated what it means to occupy a shared space which values diversity and celebrates difference.

Item Type:	Book Section
Additional Information:	This is an author accepted manuscript of a book chapter published on 13th November 2025 by Bloomsbury in An Introduction to Social Justice Education in the UK; Key Challenges and Opportunities. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy.
Depositing User:	Sheine Peart
Date Deposited:	19 Feb 2026 14:04
Last Modified:	19 Feb 2026 14:04
URI:	https://lbro.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/1298

Actions (login required)

Edit Item